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This excerpt from the Wiki article plays down the dust-ups which occurred, and which were considerable: both upon her marriage (from the press and public) and upon her second husband's decease, from natural causes (from his daughter, Christina):

"...In June 1968 when her brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, she came to fear for her life and that of her children, saying "If they're killing Kennedys, then my children are targets...I want to get out of this country."[56] On October 20, 1968, she married Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy, Greek shipping magnate, who was able to provide the privacy and security she needed for herself and her children.

"The wedding took place on Skorpios, Onassis's private island in the Ionian Sea, Greece. Following her marriage to Onassis, Kennedy-Onassis lost her right to Secret Service protection and her franking privilege, both of which are entitlements to a widow of U.S. president. As a result of the marriage, the media gave her the nickname "Jackie O", which remained a popular shorthand reference to her. She became the target of paparazzi who were following her.

"Then tragedy struck again, as Aristotle Onassis's only son Alexander died in a plane crash in January 1973. Onassis's health began deteriorating rapidly and he died in Paris, on March 15, 1975. Kennedy-Onassis' financial legacy was severely limited under Greek law, which dictated how much a non-Greek surviving spouse could inherit. After two years of legal battle, she eventually accepted from Christina Onassis, Onassis's daughter and sole heir, a settlement of $26 million, waiving all other claims to the Onassis estate.

"During their marriage, the couple resided in a home they rented in Bernardsville, New Jersey."

Did you know? Jackie was a three-pack-a-day smoker, only finally quitting upon the onset of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, upon the insistence of her daughter.

THAT'S a lot of cigs. I smoked like a house afire at one time, yet at my worst it was never more than a pack a day. But she had a much tougher job. Interestingly, although she was the most-photographed woman in the world at one time (edging out Elizabeth Taylor), I have never seen a photo of her with a cigarette in her mouth--- nor ever seen a mention of it in the press. But in her time, press circumspection smashed like an egg, along with the development of really good telephoto lenses.

Really, I can't blame her for wanting to get out of the goldfish bowl of public notoriety, and for doing something with her life that she enjoyed.

My first math professor chain-smoked unfiltered Camels through his lectures. Someone in the class tried to keep up with him and could not. He would be in front of the classes with a piece of chalk in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He seemed like such a gruff old German professor, but every once in a while, his wonderful sense of humor would come out. I especially appreciated how you could ask him a question, and the next day he would have the answer written out. I wish that I was as good at waiting until I had thought out the answer before responding. I wish more people were, especially politicians!

He gave up smoking them not long afterwards—he would stick them in his mouth and not light them. Eventually he did not need them at all.

I tuned for his wife, who was an avid amateur singer. The first time I tuned for them was just before Davies Hall was due to open. After I finished, she told me she was glad I could come, because her cousins were playing for the opening of the hall. We were going, so I knew who it was: Claude Frank and Lillian Kallir. This was a great lesson for me. I knew that I could never slack off when tuning, because I could never tell who was going to play the piano next.

They were a lovely couple. She died six years ago, and he died last year at the age of 95. I guess giving up smoking helped him live to such a ripe old age.

Hi there. Just got back from Berlin, where I did an encore performance of my Piano Girl program. I was there in October and sold out, so I was invited back to do another show. This sounds impressive, but Steinway Haus in Berlin only seats about 40, so it doesn't take much effort to sell out. What a great room, though. First time I played a wonderful B. This time I played a C, which was a first for me. Loved it, but it was almost too big for that small space. But what a treat to play such a gorgeous instrument.

Last night, right after I returned to Cologne, I played one of those Titans of Industry private parties (at another castle, not my own) on a Bechstein grand that was at least 100 years old. Oy. It would be a nice instrument if only the hotel would pay to have it restored, but no way that's going to happen. 200 men there, drinking and talking loudly. Could hardly hear myself. Such is life in the music business—from one extreme to another.

Big wedding coming up on Saturday, then another one in early December. In between I have my annual stint in a fairy costume, when the castle presents my musical for children, "Hobo und die Waldfeen." It's a lot of fun, but I'm a little old to be playing a fairy. The musical has become very popular though, so I fear I'll have to wear the fairy suit for the rest of my life. I'm gonna be 86 and still carrying a wand. At least I don't play the role of the rabbit—that involves hopping.

Last year the actress playing the rabbit pitched a diva fit (rivaling the best of the brides) and missed a major rehearsal because she was fighting with her real life husband, who is the musical director and plays the tree. I would have canned both of them, but I couldn't find another pianist willing to wear a tree costume.

What, and leave show-biz?

I am happy to be home. The travel part of my book tour is officially over, so now I can deck the halls, eat the gingerbread, and drag out the Christmas music. I have to do those things now, because once I drag out the fairy costume ( a white tutu, a Dolly Parton wig, and lavender rubber boots) there's no time.

Hark! The Aging Fairy Sings . . .

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

I had an exciting Saturday with not one, but two big band performances. One was a matinee, and the other, a real-life dinner dance at my club. No piano at the latter, but I have tuned for that band before. I talked to the singer, and told her that although she did not know me, I had accompanied her many times before as the tuner.

This year I bought some LED pinspots for the mirror ball at my club, and I got some nice comments about them. Next year I want to put in stage lighting. LEDs make it possible, because they do not need to have the building rewired for all the extra current draw.

BDB, could have used you last night on that Bechstein. The technician did a good job, but it slipped out about 2 hours into the gig. As for lighting, well, I can always use good lighting. do those LEDs come with pink and amber gels?

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

"Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946[1]) is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas..."

... it sounds like you have quite a bit in common. And if you've seen a recent photo of Dolly, all I can say is, it looks like she has the same plastic surgeon as Susan Lucci, who is older than I am and yet looks like she is in her twenties.

Feel free to dismiss the diva rabbit out of hand. Dolly can take your role, you can sub as the tree (no hopping, I would assume), and you can go ahead and steal the show out from under all of them.

Besides the faerie are ageless.

As for appearing at the other castle, you ought to have known better, dear. At least the businessmens' convention guys were only listening to their own yaps running. The Bech could have been wired to a bank of flügelhorns or even bagpipes for all they would have noticed.

Never mind them. We have missed you here--- I certainly have.

I happened to notice that this thread is closing in on 400,000 pageviews. Not bad, not bad at all. And I'm going to an actual wedding later this week. I'll try to behave, and even the groom's favorite dog will be left at home. Last time I took him to a party, no sooner did I turn my glance away for a second than he was up on the buffet table with his snout in the dip. Even a modest wedding these days costs too much for that.

I just posted this story on ABF, because that's where I usually hang out. But I thought the crowd on this thread might enjoy it, so I'll copy it over to here also:

I recently spent a few days away on business. I was trapped in a sorta-nice hotel in a smallish city, and when I checked in, I noticed there was a grand piano in the main atrium. It was covered at the time, so I didn't investigate, but I filed that fact away for possible future use.

Then one day I came out of my meeting at lunch time, and there was an older woman sitting at the piano, happily playing along while folks bustled about the lobby, meeting each other or "doing lunch" or whatever they happened to be up to. As you might expect, nobody seemed even to notice her.

So I sat down and listened for a bit. She was playing Great American Songbook type stuff... jazz standards, with a few real schmaltzy ones thrown in. But the more I listened, the more it became apparent that this woman was not your typical department-store pianist. She was good. I mean really good. I mean, like she-should-be-recording sort of good.

So I sat and enjoyed, and I caught her eye from time to time. She was obviously pleased that someone had even realized she was there. Finally she took a pause and we got to chatting a bit. I asked her about her playing and she explained that she learned to play by ear as a girl, and then at some point she decided she "ought to pay attention to all of these chords and things and figure out how it all works." So she did, and she started playing professionally.

She said she had spent years having the time of her life, playing for "dance bands" during the time when such things were popular. She also said she doesn't like today's popular music because when you try to play it on a piano, "there's nothing there." If she hadn't already had me wrapped around her finger, that did it. I smiled and agreed.

She asked me if there was anything I wanted to hear, so I thought up a few tunes that I thought were in the the right range: not so obscure that she wouldn't know them, but out of the mainstream enough that only a real player would.

She of course knew them all and played them absolutely beautifully, even though she confessed to not having played some of them for many years. On one tune, she finished playing through the bridge and had just started another verse, and without stopping she said, "oh, that's how that goes... I hadn't remembered that, that's nice, isn't it... I'll have to go around one more time and get it really right" (which of course she did).

As I listened to her play the last of my requests before I had to go, I was struck with the similarity of her playing style to that of Marion McPartland. So as a parting gesture, I told her so. She beamed and told me I'd made her day, and she related a story about her getting to see Marian play once, and how she'd been mesmerized by Marion's long fingers and the intervals she could reach with ease.

Anyway, the point of my story is that this wonderful woman was an absolute gem, both as a pianist and as a person, and there she sat in this hotel lobby, nobody the wiser. I never got her name, but I feel I received a gift from her, and I'm grateful. You just never know what's there unless you take the time to stop and look.

(And PS... if there's any chance, my piano-playing friend, that you're on this forum and reading this... thanks for a delightful time. I'll come back, and next time I'll skip the meeting and sit in the lobby all afternoon. I'll buy the drinks).

Thank you, BDB; I remember that. Interesting story... though I don't think I would go so far as to mourn--- not about the girl with gooseflesh--- I mourn that I can remember a piece of tripe from the Top Forty that last aired 51 years ago, yet have never so much as heard the name of better composers.

It makes you wonder whatever happened to paper dresses. Remember them? They used to say, "You don't wash them, you throw them away."

No connection, of course.

If you haven't seen this thread in the ABF about the Marion McPartland sound-alike playing in a hotel lobby, treat yourself.

Love the Piano Lady story! Good for you, LB, for discovering her and taking the time to listen.

As Fred Rogers once said to me: "Someone is always listening . . . " I've found this to be 100% true. At exactly the moment I think I've turned into cocktail lounge/wedding reception wallpaper, someone will come to the piano from a faraway corner and tell me the music has made a difference in his/her life.

But the key, you know, to sounding good in that situation, is to really enjoy your own playing. That's obviously the case with the Piano Lady.

Marion McP told me she learned a lot playing her "bar" gig for seven years at NYC's Hickory House. It's not a bad thing to learn to play for yourself!

I've just finished a bunch of pressure cooker concert gigs (with listening audiences!), but I was happy to return to the piano corner at the hotel-castle where I work. There is something joyful about just sitting down and playing without any expectations from anyone except myself.

On another note, Jeff, I once met Dolly. She was teeny-tiny and adorable, and had a waist the size of a tea saucer.

Re: my fairy play— I can't fire the rabbit—she is really really good—a former gymnast who can hop about ten feet in the air. Yesterday's rehearsal went well and marital relations between the tree and the rabbit seem to be in order. There were no diva fits. The tree's name, by the way, is Alabaster Epiphany Quixotico Baum. He is 838 years old—an oak. He plays a mean piano.

The fairies are a fun bunch: Faxana, Faitigue, Farteeno, Flip, and Flop.

It is truly a ridiculous play, but kids seem to like it.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

I ended up mourning a much more serious occurrence today. I was supposed to have dinner tonight with my friend who is the police chief in Vallejo at our club and celebrate his birthday this month. Instead, I got a call from his wife that one of his officers was shot and killed today, so he could not come. We observed a moment of silence for the fallen officer, not even a plate rattling in a room with over 300 diners.

Unusually respectful for such a large party, especially with food in front of them. I saw the story on TV this morning--- terrible thing.

Speaking of terrible things: that drattted wedding is tonight, across town, in rush-hour traffic, with a rainstorm forecast. Maybe I could tell them I was detained by a wreck--- it doesn't have to be me, personally. Traffic was stopped dead just day before yesterday by FOUR wrecks on 280, in broad daylight, with perfect weather, on the best road we have. So I was late for the dentist in San Francisco. That did not save me, however.

I should not be so mean as to repent of accepting this kind invitation, and it is not so terrible as being shot to death by a bank robber. It is not even so terrible as the losing effort to keep a straight face when you hear the bride say, "Oh! A gravy boat! Just what I was needing. Thank you so much uh...uh..." for of course, the bride does not know who I am, and I will have to sneak a look at the invitation to know her name as well. If you give the gift of gravy, there is no point in warning the bride about the dangers of pork chop grease; it is as sure, though not as fast, as a bank robber's bullet. So maybe there is room for repentance, after all.

I asked the favorite dog, Buddy, if he would like to go, invited or not, warning him that he would have to wear a tie. Of course I knew good and well that I have none that would fit him. Then I thought--- a bow tie. Then I thought--- one of those outfits like they dress up those Chippendale exotic stud-muffin dangers dancers, with just the collar, bow tie, and shirt cuffs. He might steal the show right out from under the bride, especially if, being intact, he tries to mark the church pews or wherever they have it. (He never does this at home, but he sees other places as fair game, and has been a repeat offender at the vet's office.)

What a shame that it takes a bit of a head start to fabricate such an ensemble. Well, too late now. In the future, I shall decline all invitations where my dog is not welcome, and that will take care of most of them. If someone says, "We're getting married," I'll ask, "What channel is it on?"

______________________________Clef

PS- I am just reading through the short stories of H.H. Munro, and it's noticeable that he's been a bad influence on my personal attitude and outlook. As if I needed any more bad examples to emulate! Yet it's extraordinary, the kind of storyline he can limn out in just eight paragraphs.

His last words, spoken as he took cover in a shell crater on a WWI battlefield, were, "Put that bloody cigarette out!" And that is a perfect example, isn't it.

PS- I am just reading through the short stories of H.H. Munro, and it's noticeable that he's been a bad influence on my personal attitude and outlook. As if I needed any more bad examples to emulate! Yet it's extraordinary, the kind of storyline he can limn out in just eight paragraphs.

His last words, spoken as he took cover in a shell crater on a WWI battlefield, were, "Put that bloody cigarette out!" And that is a perfect example, isn't it.

i was wondering.

Welcome back Robin.

_________________________
accompanist/organist.. a non-MTNA teacher to a few

1947 – The Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in London.1992 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage.

"Happy Anniversary my you-know-what," the Queen was overheard to observe.

Marilyn, to prospective millionaire husband:(Breathlessly) Are you married?

Joe E. Brown:Oh, I've been married seven or eight times.

Marilyn:Don't you know?

Joe:Oh, Mama keeps track. My last wife was an acrobatic dancer. She could smoke a cigarette while doing a handstand, holding it between her toes. But Mama broke it up.

Marilyn:But why?

Joe:Mama didn't approve of girls who smoke cigarettes.

In 2000, the American Film Institute listed Some Like It Hot as the greatest American comedy film of all time. Written (and directed) by Billy Wilder and co-writer, mathematician Iţec Domnici, it was credited with helping to sink the Production Code:

"Some Like It Hot received a "C" (Condemned) rating from the National Legion of Decency (formerly the Catholic Legion of Decency). The film, along with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and several other films, contributed to the end of the Production Code in the mid-1960s. It was released by United Artists without the MPAA logo in the credits or title sequence, since the film did not receive Production Code approval."

However, it won Oscars for Best Costume Design, Best Writing and Best Direction, as well as several other nominations. Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon won Golden Globes for Best Actor, and the film itself won Best Film.

I like to think that one reason Mae West lived so long was for the pleasure of seeing the demise of the Hayes Office, which ruined so many of her own movies as much as it could.

As a special bonus for LTW readers, the pilot film for a TV adaptation featuring Tina Louise was unsold. One might suppose she could only imitate Marilyn so many times in a single career. As the gangster remarked:

1940 – Lucille Désirée Ball elopes with, and marries, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, a meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap, in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.1835 – Birth of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), American writer and humorist, whose birth year and also the year of his death (d. 1910) both occurred during apparitions of Haley's Comet... and whose 'gloves-off' just-as-he wrote-it autobiography was released this year. I have the censored edition; I'm drooling.1900 – Decease of Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (b. 1854). "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do." Otherwise, this is too sad to recount.

Ok, technically the last three items are not, strictly speaking, Wedding History, although I think the meteorite strike could be argued either way.

"Although both Arnaz and Ball remarried to other spouses after their divorce in 1960, they remained friends, and grew closer in his final decade. "'I Love Lucy' was never just a title", wrote Arnaz in the last years of his life."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desi_Arnaz

Lucy's mother, in an effort to pry her away from a boyfriend of whom she disapproved, "despite the family's meager finances, arranged for Lucille to go to the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in New York City, where Bette Davis was a fellow student. Ball went home after the first semester when drama coaches told her that she "had no future at all as a performer."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Ball

This marriage not only gave birth to two human children, but shook the once-all-powerful TV networks to their foundations by laying the foundation for syndicated television.

"Desilu Studios was home to I Love Lucy, and additionally, such hit television series as Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, Mission: Impossible, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lucy Show, My Three Sons, Family Affair, Make Room for Daddy, The Untouchables, I Spy, Whirlybirds, Harrigan and Son, Mannix, Wyatt Earp, Our Miss Brooks, The Real McCoys, Gomer Pyle, USMC, That Girl, and after 1960, The Jack Benny Program."

Desilu's innovation was to use a multi-camera film setup before a live studio audience, using conventional film studio materials, production and processing techniques. This meant that the 35 mm negatives (the source material for copyright purposes) were immediately available for production and distribution of prints when the Lucy series went into syndication at local stations around the country... the content and quality of Desilu productions displayed a high standard from the very outset. Moreover, they were readily adaptable to either comedy or drama formats and were able to handle special effects or feature interior or exterior sets and locations with equal ease."

This is something of a mouthful, but think what it means: it revolutionized the industry, opened the door to indies, and meant a fortune to the Arnazes. Actually, that's just the beginning of a very interesting story which is still quite timely. Think who has a chokehold on society today... the Big Three networks did, just yesterday; their fall was unimaginable back then, yet they're all-but-irrelevant fossil relics today.

"On August 6, 2011, which would have been her hundredth birthday... a total of 915 Ball look-alikes converged on Jamestown, New York to celebrate the birthday and set a new world record for such a gathering."

Well that's scary, but Happy Anniversary anyway, Lucy and Desi. And the meteorite.

I could add--- briefly, since it's too late to edit--- that Lucy's 20-year career in B movies gave her excellent judgement for what scripts offered a story that people would respond to. And, she was smart enough to outwit CBS.

Desi gave us some gems of economy, which still dazzle to this very day. "You've got a lot of 'splaining to do," is an expression I used just yesterday, and one which I would imagine Mrs. Herman Cain is using in some form today. And her straying, lying husband had better come up with some better answers than he's given the press.

Talk about Today in Wedding History! This is a conversation that's had a very long history--- one would hope, not at the wedding.

No wedding stories from me, but I do have a Christmas Pageant story, and I see this thread has been quiet much of the month.

I ended up codirecting our annual church Christmas Pageant this year. This ancient tradition has the usual shepherds, angels, kings, Mary and Joseph, etc. Quite an extravaganza! But in the 20 years I've been at this church, the population of children has declined steadily - like most churches.

We made some changes this year - did all the vocal solos with a dedicated children's chorus rather than hoping against all odds that the individal actors would somehow manage solos. And I cut down the number of instrumental solos significantly.

A middle school tuba player begged to be able to play, so I wrote something simple for him. Then the middle school French horn player showed up, so I wrote a part for him. Transposed for F horn, of course. And of course, he showed up for the one rehearsal with a trumpet in Bb. A little frantic scribbling with pencil, and we were ready for showtime on Sunday. I played along to give them support, on a bright blue plastic trombone. (the pBone is the latest thing, a plastic trombone available in multiple colors). I think these kids played surprisingly well for middle school beginners, especially sitting impatiently for most of the pageant and coming in cold. I was a bit frazzled myself after a half hour herding cats! I was playing without music, and completely forgot what key I was in.

Should I share it? Ah.......debating.......well here it is but I might edit it out later. Not sure anybody really wants to hear somebody else's kids playing brass music!

Tim, I enjoyed that. I kind of miss going to the school Christmas concerts. I loved all of them —from the little ones who couldn't hold a tune to the middle school kids trying to look nonchalent (sp?) to the high school kids who by that time were pretty good at their instruments.

I played weddings and receptions, too. There were the usual family requests, but the oddest one was on the day of the wedding they decided to move the entire venue out-of-doors to a large patio behind the mansion. I normally played the grand inside the mansion, but I arrived to find that the family decided to provide the "piano", a child's 3 octave keyboard with narrow child-like key spacing and very poor audio. "Here Comes the Bride" was very weak.

I played weddings and receptions, too. There were the usual family requests, but the oddest one was on the day of the wedding they decided to move the entire venue out-of-doors to a large patio behind the mansion. I normally played the grand inside the mansion, but I arrived to find that the family decided to provide the "piano", a child's 3 octave keyboard with narrow child-like key spacing and very poor audio. "Here Comes the Bride" was very weak.

I hope you played the melody with one finger

P.S. to all: I don't play at weddings (or for anyone at any time, ever), but I have enjoyed reading all your funny memories!!